I like that Setterfield is getting a run in some of these best 22s.
No idea if he is actually up to it. But I like that blitzers are considering team balance.
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I amā¦ but iām also realistic tbh.
I think itās an absolute bonus if he makes it back to AFL level, and AFL standard. But I do think he equally is on the list to provide mentorship to our young players.
Heās an absolute gun if AFL fit, I just think itāll be a bonus if he plays. Also I do rate Guelfi very high, and Iād have him in my first few picked. If Walla is to get in the team, itād be through injury or someone like Hobbs/Caldwell/Durham misses
If fit I think heās a certainty to be there round 1.
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How Iād like to see us shape up:
B: Ridley - Reid - Massimo
HB: McGrath - BZT - Redman
C: Langford - Parish - Martin
HF: Perkins - Jones - Caldwell
F: Stringer - Wright - Tippa
R: Draper - Shiel - Merrett
INT: Hobbs - Weideman - Lav - Guelfi
SUB: Durham/Tsatas
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Itās so very tempting to stack the forward line with speed. Itād have to create headaches for the opposition.
I reckon thatās what it will be in two years
We will be a very fast team
If Massimo comes on he could be a weapon from defence.
will be interesting if Scott plays him ahead of Heppell and Hind.
For fast track development you would. I guess same reason you are trying to give Tsatas a game. I donāt think playing Tsatas as the main mid in the VFL will hurt him for a few weeks until injury opens up a spot for him.
Im worried about Caldwell given his injury interrupted preseason, and would have setterfield ahead of him at the moment for team balance.
If Stringer can get fit and play midfield might help us add a faster player in the forwardline too.
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Small forwards performing well is determined in large part by the scraps that they are served up from your teamās tall forwards. I know we have had a crack at Weideman as a low cost option which is fair enough but I really do think itās quite important to our list build that we land an established gun key forward via trade or free agency in the next 12-24 months to partner 2MP. Ideally, Ben King, but if not him then someone of his quality.
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Yeah sadly (just in my opinion) I can see us picking Hepp, Kelly and Hind most weeks in reality. Hind is probably a little different actually to be fair. I do like him and his speed does offer a point of difference. I just think we can probably only play 3 of Mass, McGrath, Redman and Hind since Brad has confirmed that McGrath will be playing as part of the defensive group.
I know Iāve probably gone one extra ātallā than most best 22ās by having all 4 of Reid, BZT (or Stewart), Ridley and Lav playing because I like Ridley with the option to play on a medium or a weaker tall to free him up. But I reckon if you were to go with a structure that only played three of these guys then Kelly or even a Durham should play in the defensive group rather than playing Mass, Mcgrath and Hind (along with Redman) in the same team as it does at that point start to risk being a little small as a defensive unit.
You could well make the point that Mass still has a bit to prove but Iām just a big believer in him and how much of a weapon his kicking can be for us in a back 6/7 that lacks quality disposal by foot. Well we know Ridley and Reid are nice kicks but we havenāt seen them have the confidence to show the dare to display it much in games.
I would like to keep LAV in the side, due to his durability and competitiveness but yeh play the 3 key talls Reid/Zerk/Ridley. (lol you say your playing 4 talls but LAV on the bench - really LAV and Ridley can switch i guess for best matchups (id prefer LAV on mediums))
I Still donāt love the Kelly FA pick, and I have him in the 2ās but think he would do a decent job as backup.
If we give Massimo the spot will enhance his development.
Will we be successful in Hinds career time frame, maybe, is he good enough defensively?
He needs to backup, after his issues with coach, and down year compared to first year at the club
Those teams look good but the one issue i see in most of them is forward pressure. Stringer, Perkins, Langford offer minimal in this regard and are lined up in what should be the quick pressure forward positions.
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FB: Kelly BZT Laverde
HB: Redman Ridley McGrath
C: Martin Shiel Heppell
HF: Perkins Jones Guelfi
FF: Walla Wright Stringer
RR: Draper Parish Merrett
Int: Mass Caldwell Hobbs Langford
Though Hepp wasnāt bad in the wing position last year. Feel Scott would value his experience out on the field as well.
If Tippa aināt fit then MENZIE must line up round 1.
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My take out from these posts is that our VFL team is going to be well worth watching. Some of the possible forward line set ups in the VFL are going to provide some great highlights.
Iām agreeing with @Bully on his comment about forward line pressure in the AFL team being an issue to address.
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Yeah haha Lav is in the side! Last time I checked it was a best 22 weāre doing not a best 18 haha! Exactly, rotate where needed. One of Zerk, Reid, Ridley or Lav can be having a spell at any given time.
Or if youāre playing a team with a tall forward structure it gives you the flexibility to play all 4 of them on the ground at once i.e. a team like West Coast when they used to play Kennedy, Allen, Darling and a resting ruck. Or Brisbane at times have played Hipwood, Daniher, McStay, resting ruck. Admittedly this isnāt super common.
But even 3 talls and a medium with aerial ability (like a Fritsch) it would work nicely for.
FB:Lav BZT Heppell
HB:Redman Ridley McGrath
C:Martin Shiel Langford
HF:Perkins Jones/Weed Guelfi
FF:Walla Wright Stringer
Fol: Draper Parish Merrett
Int: Mass Menzie Hobbs Duzza
Hate Kelly for our team, offers absolutely nothing offensively and you just cant have that in modern footy.
For mine I still feel like Hepps is holding a kid back, but we do lack leadership (not that I think he has ever offered that much of it being honest).
Weideman could be good, could be a tease like he has been his whole career to date, but Jones has a battle on his hands and thats great to see for a change.
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I definitely agree with you, however he will most likely be a lock in sadly.
itās going to be an interesting conundrum for the club coaches next year how do you develop the young kids when essentially you will still (most likely ) be picking
stewart, heppell langford.
you have to at least try setterfield and weed early on
most people in here seem to have selected parish merrett and shiel in their starting lineups wish is obviously a major issue that needs addressing.
the backline is also a hard one. lav is probably the best performed the last 2 years, but if you want to get games into Reid heās the most likely one that would have to be pushed out. If thatcher holds his form he could play 2nd key defender and start pumping games into reid, and ridley goes to the floarting 3rd tall defender.
the forwardline is interesting also.
you either play wright and weed , or you play them both with jones, which then means stringer, perko and tippa will have to be more defensive forward, which isnāt really the first twoās strength.
you then also have snelling who alot of people have just forgotten about cos of injury and poor form when he came back has to fit in there somewhere.
you also have to fit in hobbs somewhere, but where, and potentially cox and durham.
then at some point no doubt youāve going to have to trial the daveys/wanga/munkara.
and then thereās the ruck situation.
will be interesting to see how the balancing act goes, if it does or will it just follow a similar path as usual at the club (despite all the changes) because thereās some serious ego management thatās going to be needed, thereās going to be a lot of highly rated youngsters potentially not getting a game (reid for one) who may believe they would and could be getting more senior game time at other clubs, if they arenāt played more this year and itās not just a one off, itāll fit across the whole ground that the younger kid will think they are deserving of more gametime and if they do get it the older guys will crack it no doubt.
so interesting times ahead to see how the try to manage egos on so many fronts next year.
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Injuries will reduce alot of stress on picking the team. As a club we are very poor at managing injuries and I donāt see why that would change. Also if our VFL is going well then it will reduce ego management needs.
Ive picked a 23 man team based on positions - players highlighted in bold will likely start in the 23 man lineup round 1 (barring injury)
small defenders - McGrath, Hind, DāAmbrosio, Lord
medium defenders - Ridley, Redman, Heppell, Kelly, Montgomery
KPD - Zerk, Lav, Stewart*, Reid, Cox, Hayes, McBride*
power/inside mids - Stringer, Shiel, Caldwell, Hobbs, Setterfield
possession/outside mids & wing - Parish, Merrett, Durham, Martin, Cox, Tsatas*
small forwards - Guelfi, Tippa, Snelling, Wanga, ADavey, JDavey, Menzie
medium forwards- Langford, Perkins, Stringer*, Munkara
KPF** - 2MP, Weideman, Jones, Stewart,Voss, Baldwin*
rucks - Draper, Bryan, Phillips
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injuries will obviously happen, but itās not a great long term strategy to rely on injuries making hard decisions for you.
you canāt continue to pick players based on previous deeds when they come back from injuries (shiel, mcgrath, caldwall, snelling, langford) like has happened over the last couple of years.
in a proper functioning side you have to bring them back through the 2ās and make them earn their spot back from proving their fitness and form warrant it, not that they played well 2 years ago so argh ok lets just throw you back in just cos.
richmond have done that relatively well during their dominant period, albeit itās cost them some decent fringe players over the journey.
but until we see change in this area (and granted we canāt actually see any change until next season) iām still weary that this is an issue that club will struggle with.
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